Hike and stuff

Well first things first.....Steve has officially been accepted to the University of Utah for this Summer semester! After he takes a couple classes Summer Semester we'll then apply to the College of Health in the Department of Health Promotion and Education w/ an emphasis in Emergency Medical Services. He'll get to take an EMT class this fall, which I'm sure he'll like. We're excited to get things going and get working on his Bachelors, which we plan to finish next Summer or Fall. I'll also be done w/ my MBA by next March....yeah!!! Then after his Bachelors we'll apply for PA school.

Besides school, Steve and I enjoyed last week together for once! Since Steve is no longer working and I'm taking an online class we have more time to be together at home; it's so great! We spent Monday just relaxing and Friday we even went on a date! It's been 6 months basically since we've had a Friday night together, crazy how fast time goes. Steve met me at Gateway where we then went to a movie. I had gotten the tickets during my lunch so we were ready to go. Plus it was the 5:30 pm showing which gave us Matinee prices, yeah! We invited Rob (and others to come) but only Rob ended up making it. Afterwards we picked up some food at Rumbi's then went back to our place to play "Ticket to Ride." Zack and Ali came over to play too. It was a lot of fun; love that game!

Saturday we slept in, then went on a hike up Little Bell Reservoir. It was kinda sunny and we wanted to get out (and Steve wanted to fish), so we chose to go a hike. The pathway was still somewhat snowy, but it was a great hike nonetheless. When we got to the top there was another couple just finishing fishing. Steve said they scared away all the fish though, but it was still fun. There were cute duckies in the pond too.

Cute duckies getting food

More duckies

Steve getting ready to fish

Beautiful Mountains

Just about ready to go......notice how low the water is

Ducks again

Still plenty of snow on mountains

Steve and I at Little Bell Resevoir

When we got back from hiking, we hurried and cleaned up and headed to the Jordan River Temple to do some initiatories. It was a great experience and the peace there. It's definitely one of our favorite places to be! Ironically there were ducks outside of the temple too, just eating the nuts by the trees. I think they were following us....:)

Ducks at the temple too!

We also got our other blinds in and put them up! They were for the living room blinds, which are HUGE!!! They are like 100 inches wide and 86 inches tall! The old ones were basically broken since we moved in, but since they're so humongous and a little expensive due to their size, we've been dealing with it. Here are some pictures.

Old blinds falling apart

Old yucky blinds

Old blinds



New blinds!!!! So white and clean!

And most importantly they WORK!!

We're excited to go up to Idaho this weekend for Wade's Baptism. We're so proud of him and his decision and want to be there to support him. I've also got LOTS of callings to make this next little bit. We've had a bunch of sisters move in these past couple weeks and will also be having several of my main sisters moving this month. I know the Lord will help me. I need to just trust in Him and know I'll be able to find replacements and train them even better than the last.

Love ya lots,
Steve and Penny :)

Updates......

So this past weekend we made some updates to the condo (since I got my gift card from our last campaign). We ordered new blinds online first thing! We've been meaning to replace them since we moved in but they haven't been "top" priority, so we finally got around to replacing them. The kitchen ones came first so we put them up on Saturday. The living room blinds are still being made I guess.

Kitchen blinds BEFORE replacing them........

Blinds AFTER.......sooo much better!


Kitchen before raising the ceiling and changing light out


A little decor above the microwave (now that we have room)

Our Bathroom BEFORE we updated it.... no frame and not my favorite lights...

Steve and Rob putting the first board of the frame up

2 board up now....

Our brooms helping to secure the boards (Steve and Rob's invention)



The frame is complete!!! Looks sooo much better ;)

Another angle of the completed frame

New light fixture (bright lights I know), we just need to paint over the old wall

New fan/light in the bathroom (which is brighter and circulates more air) and shower rod

Cute flower Steve got for me for Valentine's Day ;)

Steve's invention, garbage bag shirt (weaved). We made these for our family get together last Sunday and then had to wear them while eating, since we used utensils for silverware. It was fun and good to visit w/ everyone.

So, besides our condo updates.......we've been staying busy don't worry. A lot of things happened last week which has helped us in some decisions. We've been praying and thinking about what to do w/ Steve's work and school situation. Then last Wednesday we had our branch temple night which helped solidify our decisions. We've been talking about Steve getting his bachelors in something other than nursing, in the hopes of completing his degree sooner and moving on to school to become a Physician's Assistant. Well after the session we both felt strongly about moving forward with his bachelors, not in nursing. I had been looking up other health related fields at the U and we decided on Health Promotion and Education w/ an emphasis in emergency medical services. He then met w/ a counselor that morning and realized he could get done w/ his degree by next Summer or Fall. So, the next day I helped him apply to the U, so we're planning to have him start this Summer and get moving.

We've also been praying about what to do about his work. Needless to say it hasn't been the best of circumstances to work in. So, Friday while at work, his boss comes up to him and tells him she needs to talk to him. She then went on to say that since he wasn't going to take his radiology test to be certified that she was going to cut his pay (she wanted him to take the test but we'd have to pay for it, and he doesn't even need it since he's going on to PA school). She wasn't going cut his pay a little, but more than the secretaries (seriously, come on). So he said he'll just quit and give her his 2 weeks notice. She of course was very happy about that and said, "actually we've only scheduled you for Saturday and Monday and then you'll be done." Well after Steve got home from work Friday night we decided that he would just be done then since she wouldn't even give him 2 weeks. So Saturday morning he called her and let her know. She wasn't too happy about it, but it worked out.

So Saturday, we got to sleep in, then I made cookies for 2 families we home teach. I had Steve deliver them while I jumped in the shower real quick, then Dave came and picked us up to go to a play "The Tale of Two Cities." We also picked up LuDean (she actually bought the tickets). We met Stacie and their Aunt Julie and her friend and LuDean's sister Madella there. None of us could remember exactly what it was about, but it ended up being a REALLY great play. The actors/actresses did a great job, and even though it was a musical Steve actually enjoyed it. The stage was incredible too; I'd never seen one like this before. It was in a circle so the audience was all around them. It was really cool since they could change scenes quickly and you could see different angles that your normally couldn't. It was awesome!!! I would highly recommend it! Afterwards Joann and Phil met us at Red Robins, yummm! Thanks again LuDean for taking us; we loved it!!! That night we went over to Dave's and played "Ticket to Ride," so fun!

Well, I've been busy at work putting in at least 6 hours over time (since it's tax season and "strongly encouraged"), and visiting all the new sisters moving into the branch. We've had a lot of people move in since I've been put in in November, but I have a feeling we're going to have a bunch of people move out come Spring/Summer time. It's just the way it is here since most are in apartments, but it's fun to meet new people. It keeps us on our toes and keeps it interesting for sure. I also finished my Stats class this past Thursday; took my final at home and aced it! One more class done, now I'm taking an online class "Managerial Communication" which should be a good refresher. After this one 3 more electives and my capstone......getting closer. I just realized I'll finish my Masters by this time next year then Steve will finish his Bachelors, yeah!!! Nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel even though Steve will have another 2 yrs or so it's at least a lot closer to where we're headed.

The week before I also filed our taxes, now just waiting for our federal refund (received our state one already). We also went and had small part replaced in my corolla. Toyota sent out a letter stating the 2005 Corollas might have been affected (some engine module thing), so we went to a dealership to have it looked at and they ended up replacing the part, for free of course. I'm glad we took the time to have it looked at. That night we met up w/ my old companions Sister McPherron (Britney Graham now) and her husband Joe. We went to Texas Road House for dinner (Steve and I split ribs, yumm) then came back and played "Ticket to Ride." It was fun catching up w/ them and hanging out.

Saturday the 12th we had the Worldwide Leadership Training; it was incredible! The information should be available on www.lds.org so anyone can go review it. A couple things I got from it was to remember what we're all about. This work is about families and our salvation. As we go about our callings we need to remember this and realize that we're not just doing things just to do them, this is to help ourselves and others return to our Father in Heaven. It is only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we can return to live w/ Him again. I saw this clip on lds.org and it reminded me of the importance of temples and the work we need to do there. https://lds.org/youth/video/kyiv-ukraine-temple-cultural-celebration?lang=eng Check it out! It brought tears to my eyes. We are so blessed to have so many temples so close to not only do our own work but the work of others. It reminded me when on my mission and the sacrifice those members go through just to attend the temple, maybe only once every couple years. I hope we're all taking advantage of our temples and more importantly realizing the responsibility we have, "where much is given much is required." Families really can be sealed together forever! We really do have a living prophet today who leads and guides us. I love the temple so much and desire everyone to go, again and again!

Well we found out Saturday that my nephew Wade has chosen to be baptized on March 12th so we'll be going up to Idaho for that. We're soooo excited for him! Can't wait to go and be there to help celebrate his special day! We love you! :)

My 27th Birthday!!!!

So this year my birthday happened to fall on Thursday, which so happens to be the same day I have class. So we decided to celebrate it on Wednesday since Steve has to work til 10pm on Friday and I have all sorts of things going on Saturday. We had planned to go out to eat at Red Robin, since it's one of my favorite restaurants, and I got a free burger coupon for my birthday. All week Steve was confirming that I'd be home by 6:45pm so we could leave the house at 7 pm. So I made sure I caught the 6 o'clock train and made it home by 6:45pm. I then hurried and changed and we left to the restaurant.

(Steve refilled the balloon he got from his b-day. Ironically it was still floating 3 months later)

When we got there, for some reason I decided to let Steve open my door (usually he just gets it when I'm getting in). So, he came over, opened my door and I got out. I then went to give him a kiss and we both got SERIOUSLY shocked on our bottom lip, I mean talk about electric shock! So that didn't feel so good and we were talking about it as we were getting to the door when I saw this car that looked just like his Dad's. I was about to say, "that looks just like you're dad's car" when Steve strategically pulled me in close. I didn't think anything of it and we continued to walk to the door. As we got in Steve was like, "McGrath party of 2," and said it a couple times kinda strangely. I was thinking, "I think she can see there are 2 of us." Well, as we go around the corner I notice Steve's parents, Grandma, Aunt Diane, Rob, my friend Eve and her boyfriend Darrell all sitting there waiting for us. I had no clue what was going on!! I can honestly say I was completely surprised for once!!! (I usually figure out when Steve is up to something).

We had a great time at dinner. The burgers were great and the company was even better! Our waitress brought out a chocolate ice cream cake slice for me (kinda funny it fell over and some fell on Eve and I) and then everyone sang happy birthday to me. When we got done w/ dinner, we went back to our place for cake and ice cream; Joann bought a yummy Snickers cake for me :). Steve then had to add all 27 candles and light them so I could blow them out. I was a little intimidated to get them all, but managed to be successful.

Lighting all 27 candles....

Steve and I just before making a wish.....

Got them all!!!!

We then opened cards and the gift Steve got me. He got the game "Ticket to Ride" that I talked about recently. I was sooo excited!! Steve said it definitely must be a hot item since there were only 2 games in the SLC valley. After chit chatting for a while everyone left but Rob, so we decided to play 1 round of the game. It was a lot of fun, even if Rob didn't let me win.....next time ;)

Not sure what Rob was doing or how this happened......

Steve, Darrell, Me, Eve, Dave, Joann and Rob

New game "Ticket to Ride" ..... so fun!

I'll have to admit Steve did a great job keeping it a secret from me. I was soooo surprised the whole evening!!! It was one of the funnest birthday's in a while. Thanks honey!

The next day, my actual birthday, I went to work and had class til 9:30pm but it was still fun. Steve put a pizza in the oven so when I got home we had a quick dinner before I had to go to class. I also had a lot of posts on Facebook wishing me a Happy Birthday, e-cards (Rose and Barb), phone calls, texts, etc. Thanks for the happy birthday song Mom, Dad, and Pauline. THANKS EVERYONE, YOU MADE MY DAY VERY SPECIAL!!!!!! Love ya all lots!!!

Other than my birthday, we've been busy w/ school and work. Steve and I have both been sick these last couple weeks, but we're hanging in there. I started another campaign last week which will run until the end of March. It's also tax season so we're "strongly encouraged" to do 6 hours of overtime. I have one more week of my class, then my final for my stats class. Steve decided to just audit his Spanish class since he doesn't need the credits and so he can focus on his other 2 classes. We also received his diplomas this week. He got his Associates of Science and Medical Assisting Certificate, both he graduated with honors. I'm so proud of him!

Steve showing off his diplomas

We had Eve and Darrell over last Friday for dinner. Steve ended up having to work, but since Eve is working downtown now we decided to still get together. We ended up both working til 7 pm, then Darrell came and picked us up. We then went back to our place where I starting making pizza dough while they went to pick up some toppings. By the time the pizza was done, we started watching "Blind Side" then Steve came home. After the movie we had brownies and ice cream and played a couple games of "Old Margarete." It was fun! It's nice having Evie back in the same building again too so we can have lunch together every so often and hang out more after work too ;)

Can't believe we're almost half way through February already. We're trying to see what trips we want to go on this year. We'll keep you posted......Have a great weekend! ;)

Cabin Weekend

January 21st-23rd we decided to go up to the cabin. We all took the day off, packed up and went. Since it's winter, it took a lot more prep time. Steve helped Dave get the ATV ready by putting the tracks on it. Friday morning we went and picked up Rob, then helped Dave get the remaining stuff into the trailer; Bailey went up w/ us too. We stopped at Heber for a quick bit to eat, then made it up to the cabin.

Since the place is covered in snow you have to park just off the highway where they have a designated parking lot. We then hurried and got our snow clothes on (man it was freezing up there!) and loaded up the toboggan. Steve drove the ATV w/ me behind him, and Rob in the toboggan. When we got to the cabin (about 1 mile in), we found the shovels and Rob and I started trying to get to the door while Steve went back for Dave and to get more stuff.

The Cabin door buried by all the snow.

Where's the door and step?

About ready to get shoveling.....

After finding the door, we went inside and got the electric heaters going in all the rooms and started a fire. Needless to say it was about as cold in the cabin as it was outside. We then kept shoveling the snow in the entrance and I put ingredients in the crockpot for tortilla chicken soup. I also made brownies. By the time Joann, Phil, Stacie and London got up a couple hours later, we had the place shoveled, warmed up a bit and the soup was ready. We then had warm soup w/ tortilla chips for dinner and brownies for dessert. That night we watched a movie and played some games.

Steve breaking up the ice under the snow (entrance to the door).

Bailey all dressed up to stay warm up at the cabin

Bailey taking it easy by the fire before everyone else came up
Where's the lake? So much snow......

Steve and I

Dave bringing Stacie and London in to the cabin
After making it to the cabin, London eating a clementine.

The next day we all slept in a little and slowly got out of bed (since it was cold outside). We then made pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast. After breakfast the guys went out to the lake to try and ice fish. They were actually having pretty good success when Dave went to zip up the door to the ice shanty and his new Droid phone dropped into his ice hole. He tried to catch it, but of course it fell anyway. The boys then spent the next couple hours trying to get it out. They built several contractions but just couldn't get it.

Steve showing off his catch

Dave's phone at the bottom of the lake

While they were out fishing Stacie and I were working on home work in the warm cabin. We both had our laptops out trying to get our homework done. Rob also let me use his phone which had an application on it to connect to the Internet; it was awesome! Just knowing I could connect if I wanted to was a great feeling! London kept us pretty entertained when we weren't doing our homework; she's so cute ;)

London trying on the chief headdress

The next morning we played a game of Settlers of Catan after breakfast; it was fun. Then Steve decided they'd better go try to get the phone again. He had made a smaller net so he could get it a little easier. Well...a little while later they had the phone! Though it was pretty much shot, Dave was still happy to get it from off the bottom of the lake. While they were gone we were packing up the cabin and getting ready to head out. Since we only had 1 ATV and a small toboggan going back and forth to the cars, it takes hours actually. Stacie, Phil and London went out first so they could make it home for dinner w/ his parents, then we went out.

We hurried home then Steve and I quickly changed and headed down to Provo. It was my niece Charlotte's 3rd birthday, so we wanted to get down for that. My mom was actually down also to be with my sister Pauline. She had just gave birth that week to a still born little girl, Cathann. She was about 24 weeks along when she couldn't feel the heartbeat anymore. Anyway, they actually have known the day would come for a couple months now so it was, in a way, relief. We're so blessed to have the knowledge of the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. It was good to visit w/ Pauline and my mom for a while, then we had to head home.

It was as great weekend all in all. It's always good to get out and most importantly, spend time w/ family.

Soooooo Cold!!!!

Man it's been cold this week!!! I think it finally got above freezing today! The holidays are officially over and it's back to our routines I guess. The holidays were fun to relax and enjoy time w/ family, but I we have to get back to the swing of things sooner or later. It's been a little rough, but we're hanging in there.

I started school again last Thursday. I'm taking a Stats class, which is my last core class then I just have 4 electives and my capstone class. The last time I took stats was in 2003, so it's been a while, but I enjoy it. The teacher is good and our class is fun so it should be a good class. 2 weeks down 6 more to go!

Steve also started classes this week. He's taking College Biology, College Biology Lab, College Biology Workshop, Chemistry, Chemistry Lab and Spanish. He's really been feeling like he needs to learn Spanish for sometime, so we finally worked it into his schedule. We both feel it can really help him in the medical field, and it never hurts to learn another language. He's still working on Monday and Friday nights (which kinda sucks its true), but he's getting the experience he needs. We're still trying to find something else, hopefully that will pay for his RN degree. He had an interview w/ IHC last week and he was in the top 3 candidates, but I guess it came down to the amount of experience and he was ruled out. We'll keep applying and hope someone will hire him....and pay for his school, :)

I've been pretty busy at work. They're "strongly encouraging" us put in 6 hours of overtime a week. I've been getting it so far, though it hasn't been easy. We usually have weekly visits to sisters in the branch, plus school, so it really narrows down the time I can put in over time. The Lord has truly blessed me at work though and the time I do have I've been able to do well.

I feel like things are finally starting to get organized, in terms of Relief Society. We're getting our visiting teaching figured out and making sure all sisters have callings and know what they're supposed to be doing. We're planning a RS Training in 2 weeks so hopefully that'll help too. Last week we had 3 new sisters move in so we visited them this week. They seem like they'll be a great blessing to our branch. It's always exciting having new members move in. In a way it seems like our little branch is growing! My first counselor was sick this week, but luckily I had Steve to go w/ me on the visits. Steve also went with me and my 2nd counselor on Sunday to visit a couple people who were in the hospital. One sister actually got hit by a truck while crossing the road so she's in rehab now. The other is an older gentleman who had his hip replaced and is recovering from that. We visited each of them for a while then said a prayer for them and left. I had our compassionate service leader check on them during the week and sounds like they might be released soon.

Another older gentleman (Larry Jones) who moved into our branch for just a couple weeks passed away. He came down here w/ his wife (from Idaho) to get a liver transplant. He got the transplant about a week after moving down (just temporarily of course), then was having kidney failure while recovering. Apparently they couldn't get things under control and he passed away. When I saw him that Sunday at church, right before the transplant, I couldn't help but think of my Grandpa Hegerhorst. He had that look (an orange color) to his skin and silvery hair, tall, and thin. That afternoon after church, I took a nap and had a dream that my Grandpa came to me. It was so real; it's hard to describe. I woke up crying from my nap it was so real. After hearing Brother Jones passed away from complications my eyes filled up with tears again thinking about the loss of this man. I know he is not my Grandpa and it'll be 5 yrs since he passed this summer, but I can't help but think of my Grandpa frequently. I loved my Grandpa so0oo much and miss him more than I can explain. I know my Grandpa and Brother Jones are happy though and we must be too. This is but a short time here on earth. I'm so thankful for the Plan of Salvation which will enable us to be with our loved ones once more. I don't know what I'd do without this knowledge and peace.

Somewhere in between our other obligations we've also made time to be with friends also. Last week we doubled w/ Steve's friend Zack and his girlfriend Ali. We went to Red Robin (yumm) for dinner, then came back and watched "Did you hear about the Morgans?" It was fun to hang out w/ Zack and get to know Ali. This week we went over to our neighbors and had dinner w/ them. They made BBQ sandwiches and then I made a coconut cake for dessert. We then played "Ticket to Ride" which was REALLY fun! It's kinda like "Settlers of Catan" which we both like. It was a little easier than Settlers in that you don't trade w/ other players so in a way there is less strategy. It was way fun though; we might have to get it someday.

Well I hope all is well for everyone. This year is already zooming by so don't let any day pass you bye without making it count.

Love ya lots,
Steve and Penny ;)

Happy New Year, 2011!!!!!

This week just flew by, but I was excited for the weekend so no complaints from me. On Tuesday Steve and I went out to try and find some people in the branch that we didn't know if they lived there or not. We found one young lady and her five year old son and talked to them for a while. She said she lived there over a year now. It makes me wonder how many people live in these apartment complexes and don't come to church for one reason or another. I hope we can continue to find more.

On Thursday, Steve picked me up from work and we went up to Centerville to watch London while Stacie and Phil ran some errands. They put her down right after we got there, so it was pretty easy. She went right to sleep, so Steve played on the xbox while I cup some coupons. We talked to Stacie and Phil for a little bit, then headed out. On the way home, we stopped at Smiths to use the coupons I just cut. I saved 71 percent, yeah!!

Friday after work we went over to some friends in the branch for a New Year's Eve Party. I hurried and made pizza dough when I got home, then headed over. I baked the pizza dough on the pizza stones for 10 minutes, then put the toppings, then baked for another 10-15 minutes. We made 5 total, 2 meat (pepperoni, sausage, bacon), 1 canadian bacon/pineapple, 1 BBQ chicken, and 1 pesto chicken. They pretty much all got eaten too, must have been good! We then played games, watched a couple episodes of the Office, then watched the countdown and toasted w/ sparkling cider! It was fun!

On Saturday we slept in, then Steve had to work from noon to ten pm (but ended up not getting home until midnight). While he was gone I cleaned, did laundry, and got ready for our anniversary dinner the next day. I also met w/ Laura our VT Coordinator and went over our visiting teaching and made some changes. It's kind of a mess, so hopefully now it'll be a bit more organized.

On Sunday, it was our 2nd Anniversary! Our church didn't start until 11 a.m. so we got to sleep in, which was great!. I met Laura again at 10 a.m. to put our new assignments in the computer then printed them out to pass out to everyone. After church I met my counselors/secretary, then went home to finish our dinner. I put the ribs in the crockpot the night before and made the cake too.

I made Steve one of his favorites, meat and potatoes! (Baby back ribs, potatoes and gravy, peas and rolls)

Then for dessert, chocolate cake w/ coconut shavings!
Our 2nd anniversary!!! We watched Ice Age and played Sudoku, so fun!




Monday I took the day off so we got to sleep in again, yeah! Since it was a day we both had off, we went to the dentist then ran some errands. We went to Home Depot and picked up 2 items we felt we should have, a fire extinguisher and a carbon monoxide/smoke detector. We also rented Shrek 3; it was cute!

Installed fire extinguisher

And a duel smoke detector and CO detector (Steve w/ his new shirt from Christmas too)


Here's to another great year! Happy New Year!!!! :)